According to new data from the Beforepay Cost of Living Index, Australians saw a surge in spending on Boxing Day, with the average person spending $448.38. In December 2022, the daily cost of living for the average Australian increased by just 2.5% to $62.02, compared to $60.48 in November 2022.
Beforepay’s Cost of Living Index tracks the average daily spending of over 350,000 Australians across various household expenses, including utilities, groceries, food and drink, shopping, petrol, and fitness and health, showed that even with inflation and economic uncertainty, the average daily spend on shopping rose 25.7% from the previous month, going from $7.74 in November 2022 to $9.73 in December 2022.
Boxing Day saw particularly high consumer spending activity. Around 61% of durable goods spend in December 2022 occurred on Boxing Day, with the average daily spend for the category increasing from $6.73 in November 2022 to $6.84 per day in December 2022. Year on year numbers show a slight dip in category spend of 0.4%.
Additionally, the fitness and health category saw a moderate month-on-month increase of 4.9%, going from $2.43 per day in November 2022 to $2.55 per day in December 2022, with about 60% of that spend happening on Boxing Day, potentially due to discounted sales.
Petrol and auto spend saw a decrease of 4.4% from $8.34 per day in November 2022 to $7.97 per day in December 2022, likely due to the holidays and a reduction in the number of people commuting to work and/or doing school dropoffs and pickups.
Beforepay Cost of Living Index for December 2022
Beforepay Head of Data Science, Geoff Chang, said: “In December 2022, we saw lower spikes in Christmas shopping and flatter trends in grocery and restaurant spend compared to previous periods, as the cumulative impacts of elevated prices continue to pressure consumers. Overall in 2022, seasonal spending appears to be driven by end of financial year sales and tax refunds."
About the Beforepay Cost of Living Index:
The Beforepay Cost of Living Index shows the average daily spend of Beforepay registered users across multiple household expense categories. The average income of customers in the sample is approximately $56,000 and the average age is 33, with a broadly representative geographic and gender breakdown. The data may vary depending on the main bank account linked with Beforepay. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Beforepay and its related bodies corporate, make no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or reliability of the contents of this article and do not accept any liability for any loss whatsoever arising from the use of this article or its contents or otherwise arising in connection with it.
About Beforepay:
● Beforepay was founded in 2019 to support working Australians who have not been well-served by the traditional financial-services industry.
● Beforepay is an ethical, customer-friendly way to help people manage temporary cash- flow challenges.
● We’ve created a simple, transparent and inexpensive fee model that gives our customers total control. Importantly, unlike traditional products like credit cards, we charge only a small transaction fee, zero interest and no late fees.
● We take our commitment to providing funds responsibly very seriously, and that includes only providing funds to people who meet our strict safeguards.
● Our app also includes free budgeting tools and spending insights. For more information visit: www.beforepay.com.au
● Beforepay is an ethical, customer-friendly way to help people manage temporary cash- flow challenges.
● We’ve created a simple, transparent and inexpensive fee model that gives our customers total control. Importantly, unlike traditional products like credit cards, we charge only a small transaction fee, zero interest and no late fees.
● We take our commitment to providing funds responsibly very seriously, and that includes only providing funds to people who meet our strict safeguards.
● Our app also includes free budgeting tools and spending insights. For more information visit: www.beforepay.com.au
Contact Information: mediaenquiries@beforepay.com.au
